So, after my two aces, things get a little less solid. Cueto and big Erv are definitely fine, and I have faith in Moore and to a lesser extent Smyly (start w/ eyes closed on Burnett). I’m about out of patience on Bills & Floyd is gonna be on the bench or dropped soon. Because we play QS, most teams carry a large # of SPs like me, so the WW is very dry. There is a guy that has good SP depth and also has Hanley & Furcal at SS, but he is weak at 1B. I was thinking about making a trade like Kershaw/Dunn/Rollins for his Hanley/Bumgarner/Morrow. I don’t think he would go for that, but maybe he would if it included someone like Wandy or Anibal instead of Morrow. Also, I could go after Bum & Morrow while subbing in Furcal for Hanley. I’m not terribly worried about closers, because it’s only 1/12 cats in our league and a healthy Bailey makes me better there. What advice would you give me? Do you think I’m better suited trading a bat for an arm, or parlaying Kershaw into a couple strong starters? or should I have faith in the team and stand pat? I appreciate your feedback…sorry for the long message, I’m just sick of being stuck in the middle of my league & I feel like It’s pretty good timing. Thanks

Personally, I prefer Wandy/Anibal over Morrow, but that’s just a side note. I’d much rather do the trade where I’m getting Hanley than the Furcal one. I’m just not convinced that Furcal can keep this up, plus he’s an injury risk. Kershaw/Dunn/Rollins for Hanley/Bumgarner/Anibal is something I’d seriously consider, but I’m not one to pay a high price in a trade for starting pitching, so it’s tough for me to be enthusiastic about it. But if you think it makes sense for you, it’s not a bad return. By the same token though, I’m not opposed to you just standing pat. I’m very down on Billingsley now but I’m not giving up on Floyd. He has a tendency to blow up from time to time but the final season numbers should be solid. He’s a guy who you just have to leave in there all the time as it’s nearly impossible to predict his performance from start to start.

I’ve been very impressed with Paulino and his K’s but we kept him as a pitch or ditch guy in our recently updated chart, and that’s geared towards 12-team leagues. In a 10-teamer, I wouldn’t be quite comfortable picking him up to make a start that isn’t exactly overly favorable.

Hey Big Z, do you buy into the idea of benching even some of your best hitters if they are really struggling, particularly in shallow leagues. Take Jay Bruce, we know he’s streaky and when he goes cold he goes arctic for a while. Of course he could bust out at any time but just thinking I could get a current more productive bat (D Young) in while he’s struggling, do you like to do this?

Nope. I’m a big believer in keeping your top hitters in your lineup through thick and thin as they can break out at any moment. I feel that when you try to micromanage your roster to this extent, more often than not you’ll be burned.

Good morning Zach,
Ricky Romero has been all over the place lately. That K:BB ratio is concerning. Stand pat or grab one of these available SPs for ROS in 10 team, H2H league:
McDonald
Milone
Vogelsong
Smyly
Pettitte
Cahill
Thanks for the help and enjoy your Memorial Day Weekend.
Rich D.

Need Help….!!!
I currently have three 1B and 4 OFs in a 10 team H2h league, I have Mark Teixeira, Paul Konerko, Adam Dunn at first base and my outfielders are Hunter Pence, Nelson Cruz, Andre Ethier and Andy Dirks. I was offered Adrian Gonzalez for Andre Ethier and dont know if I should go with that trade or should I offer Konerko for Adrian Gonzalez. I know Konerko is old and his production will decline in the second half and I believe Adrian Gonzalez numbers will improve. what should I do Zach?? Thank you!!

Ethier for Adrian is an attractive trade, but I’m assuming that you can only start three outfielders? If that’s the case I’d sooner keep Ethier so that you won’t be forced to rely on Dirks. Definitely try to make a trade to clear out that 1B logjam though. It’s a total waste if you always need to bench one of them.

Well i dont bench any of them because there is a IF and Utility spot so I am able to play all 3 of them, we also have three OF positions. so if I trade Ethier I will end up with for 1B, I think trading Konerko will make more sense… what do you think?

Hey guys, I have been offered a trade which I receive Josh Willingham, Raul Ibanez and Alex Rodriguez and giving up Giancarlo Stanton and Evan Longoria. What do you think? I am sure Longoria is coming back soon and he has plenty of time to continues his hot start.

hey would you consider dropping either Lincecum or M Moore at any point this season? Just seems there are guys with lesser reputations that are pitching better than these 2 Also just dropped Fowler as he doesnt appear to play every day when healthy and will drop Torres also when Jennings returns…..will probably have to drop Venable when Craig returns ..my other OF options are Boesch/ BJ/ Ibanez/ Reddick

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.